Conflict Management: Definition, Functions, and Stages

Conflict is unavoidable, not to mention in the business world where many parties are involved. Both internally and externally, conflict will always exist. It's just a matter of finding ways to prevent and resolve conflicts that occur.

This can be done by implementing proper conflict management, for example by negotiating. Well, this article will address each of your questions regarding conflict management, from its understanding to its implementation. Stay tuned!

What is Conflict Management?

According to KBBI, management means the use of resources effectively and efficiently to achieve a goal. While conflict is an event that occurs when two or more parties contradict or disagree with each other.

In theory, many experts put forward the notion of conflict management such as Howard Ross, Minnery, to Johnson & Johnson. According to Ross, conflict management is conflict resolution steps that are directed to certain results, such as calm, creative, to reach consensus.

Simply put, conflict management is a way to manage conflict to reduce the bad possibilities of conflict such as hostility, division, to unfair competition. Conflict management itself can be done independently, in cooperation with or without a third party, to make decisions between the two parties.

Conflict Management Functions in Organizations

The use of conflict management has various functions, for example to prevent friction between superiors and subordinates. In fact, in Islam, conflict management is also recommended, for example it is better to negotiate to resolve problems.

The following are the 3 functions of implementing conflict management:

Increase worker creativity and productivity

The main goal of conflict management is to avoid disagreement or even hostility. Well, with the implementation of good conflict management, conflicts that occur can be overcome and even prevented before the conflict becomes severe.

With minimal friction, the performance of members will be better. Of course this will affect the productivity and creativity of work. Workers can work optimally without worrying about the problem with their superiors.

In addition to the workers themselves, good performance will also have an effect on faster and better or creative work results. Eventually, good performance also affects the growth of the business being run.

Reducing the gap between workers

If there is a conflict, the work atmosphere is definitely not good. The positive atmosphere needed to generate creative ideas is lost. Moreover, if the conflict is not handled immediately, one party may have a bad relationship with the other party.

Therefore, conflict management is important to reduce the gap between one party to another. In addition, conflict management is also important so that each party respects each other.

Train conflict resolution skills

Although conflict tends to be seen as a bad thing, there is another side to why conflict is important. Conflict will always exist, but the organization's efforts to resolve it whenever it comes will eventually pay off.

Organizations will get used to the existence of conflict, then make conflict management an easy thing to do. Of course, this can also hone the ability to determine more appropriate solutions for conflicts that occur in the future.

Stages of Conflict Management

To implement conflict management, here are 5 general steps that are often carried out.

Identification

The first is problem identification. At this stage, you should be able to find answers to what might be the cause of the conflict. Starting from knowing which parties are in conflict, the root of the problem, the scale of the conflict, to the possible impacts.

The initial stage is an important stage to measure the final impact. The earlier you identify a conflict, the less the consequences of that conflict will be, of course it must be accompanied by a good conflict management strategy.

D

At this stage, you must conduct a thorough analysis and mapping of the conflict against the results of the initial identification. Then, make a diagnosis or statement on the conflict. For example, what happened turned out to be “vertical conflicts between managers and team members due to an irregular work system”.

From there, you must also prepare possible solutions and the consequences that can be accepted by both parties and are not biased.

Solution agreement

At this stage, the two sides are brought together. You as a mediator, for example, describe the various settlement options that have been made in the previous stage. Then, let both parties weigh in until they agree on which one is the best solution for both.

Solution implementation

Agreeing on the chosen solution is not the end of the conflict, but both parties must also be monitored individually to implement what has been agreed. If the agreement instructs both parties not to interfere in each other's affairs, then both must comply with it.

If the agreement is also written along with sanctions, then both parties will also be affected by this article if they violate it. Therefore, there is a need for supervisors to evaluate the implementation of the two parties to the existing agreement.

Evaluation

Apart from monitoring the implementation of the agreement, the implementation of the solution should also be evaluated. This is done to see how effective the solution that has been chosen is. If it's good, then you don't have to worry anymore if a conflict occurs again.

On the other hand, if the evaluation meets a poor score, then both parties must restart the stage of the solution agreement to choose a new solution.

Types of Conflict Management

There are 5 types or types that are often used to launch conflict management strategies, including:

Accommodating

The first type is accommodation. Basically, this type focuses on the interests of two parties whose settlement method is carried out by a third party. Here, the third party must listen and collect every opinion from both parties.

Then, third parties provide several solutions that can adopt both interests, or can also be one-sided.

avoiding

Next up is the technique of avoiding, or apathy, conflict management. This type is chosen to prevent and avoid potential conflicts. The main purpose of this type is to prevent or prevent conflicts from occurring.

In the organizational context, those responsible for this must have strong analytical power of the company's ecosystem. He must be sensitive and able to identify conflicts as early as possible as well as determine preventive policies before conflicts actually occur.

Compromising

This type is known as a positive strategy choice because the two disputants choose to compromise to reach a solution for the common good. The goal is that the results of the existing agreement have a positive influence on both parties.

There are 4 ways to solve with compromising namely: separation, attrition, bribery, and decisions made by chance.

1. Separation means that the two parties are separated.
2. Atrasi, meaning that both parties agree on the decision of a third party.
3. Making decisions by chance can be done, can be simple but still follow the existing rules.
4. Bribing may sound dishonest, but if both parties agree, then this is perfectly fine.

collaboration

This species is also considered to have output which is positive because every member of both parties is welcome to work together to resolve the conflict. However, for the record, this strategy can only be done if both parties agree to find a solution with the aim of mutual interest.

Competing

This type requires a third party to allow both parties to compete fairly with each other as a form of problem solving. Even though it looks fair in some cases, the results still seem “black and white” because there will be winners and losers.

Conglomeration

In this type, a party will combine several strategies that have been mentioned above. Of course, this will cost money and time, for example hiring a third party, to meetings with disputing parties.

For example, conflict management with the main type of compromise strategy could use accommodation or collaborating so as not to harm both parties.

Thus our discussion today about the ins and outs of conflict management. Have you understood so far? If not, then look into conflict management again because this is also personally important.

You certainly don't want to cut ties with your best friend because the actual conflict can be resolved, right?

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